Category: News

After a successful maiden visit earlier this year, Nashville’s Old Crow Medicine Show are heading back Down Under next year.

Old Crow Medicine Show goes beyond their “Americana” tag, delivering bluegrass-styled tunes with attitude. They’ll make stops at the blues and roots festivals on each side of the country, and also play some very special theatre shows. If you didn’t catch them on their first visit, make sure you don’t make the same mistake this time around!

Tickets for the following shows are available online from Love Police.

27 March 2010 – Factory Theatre, Sydney
28 March 2010 – West Coast Blues And Roots Festival, Fremantle
31 March 2010 – Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne
1 April 2010 – Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne
2 April 2010 – Mossvale Park, South Gippsland
3 April 2010 – East Coast Blues And Roots Festival, Byron Bay

Image source: Ron Baker & Craig Williams @ Wikimedia Commons

After the buzz surrounding his inclusion on next year’s Laneway festival bill, enigmatic American singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston has announced two very special side shows.

The tour will support the album Is and Always Was, Daniel’s first release in eight years.

Daniel is known for selecting existing outfits to serve as his backing bands, and his Australian jaunt is no exception. Old Man River will join Daniel on stage for both the Laneways gigs and the headliner side shows.

It’s taken Daniel more than 30 years to visit Australia, so we shouldn’t expect a return visit any time soon. Make sure you see him at the following shows while you have the chance. Tickets to the shows went on sale today.

3 February 2010 – The Prince of Wales, Melbourne
4 February 2010 – Metro Theatre, Sydney

Image source: Timsnell @ Flickr

After enjoying plenty of airplay on Triple J, Angus and Julia Stone have officially released their brand new single “And the Boys.”

“And The Boys” is the first taste of Angus and Julia Stone’s sophomore album Down The Way. The track comes bundled with two bonus songs, “Take You Away” and “Change” when purchased through the iTunes online store.

To celebrate the release of And the Boys, Angus and Julia Stone have announced they’ll tour around the country in March and April. The tour will coincide with the release of Down The Way. Tickets for all shows are available now.

16 March 2010 – ANU Bar, Canberra
17 March 2010 – Wollongong University
18 March 2010 – Newcastle University
19 March 2010 – Tanks Art Centre, Cairns
20 March 2010 – The Tivoli, Brisbane
21 March 2010 – Lake Kawana Arts and Community Centre, Sunshine Coast
24 March 2010 – Hellenic Hall, Hobart
25 March 2010 – Palace Theatre, Melbourne
26 March 2010 – Metro Theatre, Sydney
28 March 2010 – West Coast Blues and Roots Festival, Fremantle
31 March 2010 – Settlers Tavern, Margaret River
1 April 2010 – Astor Theatre, Perth
2 April 2010 – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
5 April 2010 – Byron Bay Bluesfest

Image used with permission from Original Matters

James Reyne is the latest Aussie music veteran to record a covers album. The former Australian Crawl frontman will release a collection of Elvis Presley songs next year.

“I wondered whether we could have the AUDACITY, PRESUMPTION and DAMN GALL to try and record an album of my versions of some Elvis songs,” James said in a statement. “We made a LONG list. I researched and rediscovered a lot of the songs that I already knew and a lot that I didn’t. From our LONG list we chose fourteen songs. It was not easy. My main criterion was that the originals had that certain, innate insouciance that grabbed you immediately and, therefore, might translate more easily”.

“The main aim was to try and make the songs my own, always aware of the stupidity of trying to imitate Elvis himself and the folly of even pretending to contend the brilliance of the originals, but keeping a sense of humour intact and still remaining true to any crucial rhythms or cadence or musical elements that existed on those first, seminal, exhilarating recordings. It is probably testament to the artful simplicity of these originals that our recording process was painless and, dare I say, easy,” he said.

James Reyne TCB will hit music stores on April 9. To coincide with the release, James will play two intimate theatre shows. Look out for him at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on May 21, and Sydney’s State Theatre on May 22.

Image source: The Harbour Agency

Jimmy Barnes, Shannon Noll, and Adam Brand are going bush for one big Aussie tour. The Red Hot Summer tour will take in regional centres around the country this January.Jimmy Barnes is a bona fide legend of the biz, and Shannon and Adam are doing all the right things to earn that status. To see them all on the same bill, especially for these towns who are rarely treated to quality music acts, is something pretty special.These promise to be family affairs, with children under 12 gaining free admission when accompanied by a paying adult.Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster. The first 200 people who buy tickets to each show will receive a copy of Barnesy’s new single “Red Hot.” Here are all the dates!2 January 2010 – Bonnie Doon Hotel3 January 2010 – Victory Park Soundshell, Traralgon6 January 2010 – Morning Star Estate, Mount Eliza7 January 2010 – Waterski Club, Mulwala9 January 2010 – Mary Ann Reserve, Mannum10 January 2010 – Gol Gol Hotel, MilduraImage source: Ticketmaster

Melbourne power-pop trio Even are celeb rating the silly season with three very specially shows. Ash, Wally, and Matt will play three intimate shows at Fitzroy’s Workers Club under the banner of Xmas Even Classic EP Nights.

Fans are in for a real treat, with Even promising to play a different classic Even EP in its entirety each night along with a host of other classic tracks and newies from the forthcoming release, In Another Time.

The band says there’ll be a completely different set list each night, so why not ring in the festive season with all three shows?

See Xmas Even on December 21, 22, and 23 at The Workers Club, Fitzroy. Tickets cost $15 through Moshtix or $20 at the door.

Image source: Premier Artists

Bacardi seems just as interested in beats as booze these days. Hot on the heels of the announcement of next year’s Bacardi Express comes the B-Live bat-box release of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.”

Aussie electro outfit Van She has remixed the Blue Oyster Cult hit, which you can download for free here.

I’m not ordinarily a remix fan, but I don’t mind this one. It takes me back to my teens without tainting the memory, unlike so many of those doof-doof dance do-overs I’ve heard in recent years. The chilled-out vibe gets me in the mood for summer!

Image source: Peer Group Media

Reigning Australian Idol champ Stan Walker has been named an ambassador for the Sony Foundation.

The charity raises money for parts of the community in need. Its current focus is building specialised cancer wards for young people aged 15 to 30.It’s a cause close to Stan’s heart, as his family has a tragic history of battling the disease.

“Out of my grandmother’s 22 children, 18 have died from cancer. My cousin passed away from cancer last year, he was only 17. It was heartbreaking and the fact he was sharing a ward with old people made it worse,” he explained. “I feel privileged to be able to support the Sony Foundation in this important campaign.”

Dr Louise Messara, Executive Director, Sony Foundation, added “we are delighted to welcome Stan to the Sony Foundation family as an official ambassador. He captivated the public not only with his enormous talent but also with his big heart, honesty and colourful character. In many ways, Stan is the embodiment of what Sony Foundation stands for.”

You can support the Sony Foundation’s efforts through the Buy-a-Builder campaign. At the website you can purchase virtual builders, who will help build a real cancer ward.

How wonderful to see Stan giving back just a few short weeks after winning the crown. I hope his profile can encourage people to get involved with this great cause.